Campbell v. State

325 S.W.3d 223, 2010 Tex. App. LEXIS 4596, 2010 WL 2432065
CourtCourt of Appeals of Texas
DecidedJune 17, 2010
Docket2-08-262-CR
StatusPublished
Cited by65 cases

This text of 325 S.W.3d 223 (Campbell v. State) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Texas primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Campbell v. State, 325 S.W.3d 223, 2010 Tex. App. LEXIS 4596, 2010 WL 2432065 (Tex. Ct. App. 2010).

Opinions

OPINION

BOB McCOY, Justice.

I. Introduction

In a single point, Appellant Trent Michael Campbell appeals his conviction for driving while intoxicated (“DWI”). We affirm.

II. Background

Southlake Police Sergeant James Polley and Officer David Aldridge were the only witnesses to testify at Campbell’s DWI trial. The DVD from Officer Aldridge’s vehicle’s dashboard camera (“DVD”) and the jail videotape of Campbell receiving his statutory warning regarding giving a breath specimen were also admitted in evidence and published to the jury, along with a copy of the statutory warning signed by Campbell.

A. Sergeant Polley’s Testimony

Sergeant Polley testified that on March 29, 2008, around 1:15 a.m., he received information about a possible drunk driver. He proceeded to a nearby intersection to wait for the vehicle, a silver Mitsubishi, to drive by, and then he followed it, describing its manner of driving as follows:

The Mitsubishi was traveling with both left side tires over the center — the center stripes, and then would drift back across and the right side tires would go. And on that street it’s an old county road and it has bar ditches on either side and the shoulders are very narrow and dirt, so it pretty much goes road surface to dirt to bar ditch. And he put both right side tires into the — just about into the bar ditch and then would come back in, and he did that numerous times.

Sergeant Polley described the Mitsubishi’s line-crossing as “all the way over to about where the hood ornament would be on a normal car. It would be two to three feet over onto the right-hand side or to the left of the center turn stripe.” He followed the Mitsubishi for around a minute and a half — not more than a mile — during which time the Mitsubishi almost hit a culvert,1 causing him to fear for the driver’s safety “and for anybody else[] he happened to cross.” He followed the Mitsubishi into a residential neighborhood, parked behind it, and waited several minutes for Officer Aldridge to arrive.2 He testified that no one entered or exited the vehicle while he waited.

B. Officer Aldridge’s Testimony

Officer Aldridge testified that on March 29, 2008, during his 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. shift, there was a general broadcast about a possible drunk driver in a silver Mitsubishi, who was being followed first by a [228]*228civilian on a cell phone and then by Sergeant Polley. Officer Aldridge did not see Campbell driving. He testified that he found the silver Mitsubishi parked on the residential street with its engine turned off; Sergeant Polley’s vehicle was parked behind it.

Officer Aldridge found Campbell, either sleeping or passed out, in the silver Mitsubishi when he approached it. He testified that he noticed that Campbell smelled of alcohol; when Campbell woke up, he automatically reached for the ignition. Officer Aldridge told him to give him the keys and to step out of the ear. He observed that Campbell slurred his words, and he testified that he felt that Campbell was a danger to himself or others. He put handcuffs on Campbell and placed him in the back seat of his patrol car, testifying that he detained Campbell “because [he] knew it was going to be at least a public intoxication or minor in consumption.” He also testified that he asked Campbell if he had had anything to drink that night and that Campbell replied that he had been drinking with some friends. Officer Aldridge admitted that he continued asking Campbell questions even though he was arresting Campbell, or at least detaining him, based on a public intoxication charge. Officer Aldridge then placed Campbell in his patrol car so he could speak with Sergeant Polley about what Sergeant Polley had seen.

Officer Aldridge subsequently administered the horizontal gaze nystagmus (“HGN”) field sobriety test to Campbell at Sergeant Polley’s prompting. He testified that the test resulted in six clues — the maximum — and then he placed Campbell under arrest for suspicion of DWI after Campbell refused to perform additional field sobriety tests. And he testified that based on his experience and observations that night, he came to the conclusion that Campbell had lost the normal use of his mental and physical faculties due to alcohol use, based on his demeanor, “the stumbling around, staggering, and his speech.” Campbell refused to give a breath sample after he was transported to jail, and he received his Miranda warnings3 after he received the statutory warning about the consequences of refusing a breath sample.

C. Dashboard Camera DVD

The dashboard camera DVD corroborates Officer Aldridge’s testimony. Specifically, it shows Officer Aldridge approaching the Mitsubishi with a flashlight, shining the flashlight through the driver’s side window, and opening the driver’s side door. Some movement occurs inside the Mitsubishi, and Officer Aldridge tells Campbell to leave his car turned off, to give him the keys, and to step out of the vehicle. Campbell steps out of the vehicle on his own.

Officer Aldridge then asks Campbell how old he is. Campbell responds that he is nineteen. He asks Campbell if he has any identification on him, and Campbell responds that he does not. He asks Campbell how much he has had to drink tonight and whether it was a couple of beers. Campbell responds, “yes, sir.” Officer Aldridge handcuffs Campbell and then asks him whether he knows that he is not old enough to be drinking. Campbell replies, “yes.” Officer Aldridge then states, “But you did it anyway. Right?” Campbell says, “Right.” He asks Campbell where he has been tonight; Campbell’s response is unintelligible except for the word “house.” Campbell then insists that he had not been driving. Officer Al-dridge responds, ‘You just got through driving and parked right here,” and then asks him off-camera, after informing him [229]*229that he has been followed by police officers, “If you wasn’t [sic] driving, who was?” Campbell’s response is unintelligible. Off-camera, Officer Aldridge tells him to wait “right here” and the sound of the patrol car’s door closing can be heard on the DVD.

When Officer Aldridge administers the HGN test to Campbell, Campbell demonstrates trouble following the instructions. Officer Aldridge asks him if he has been doing anything besides drinking, and Campbell says no. When asked if he has been doing any drugs, Campbell states, “No drugs at all.” As Officer Aldridge puts Campbell in the patrol car (off-screen), Campbell asks what the charge is. Officer Aldridge replies, “Driving while intoxicated,” to which Campbell again argues that he had not been driving.

Campbell can clearly be heard to slur his words throughout, and he visibly sways during the administration of the HGN test. The DVD also shows that Officer Aldridge was not by himself — after he opens Campbell’s car door, another uniformed officer approaches the vehicle and an officer in plain clothes walks to the passenger side of the vehicle. They both stand there while Officer Aldridge handcuffs Campbell.

D. Jail Videotape

The videotape of Campbell receiving his warnings at the jail and refusing to give a breath sample also shows that Campbell has trouble stating his birth date and that he refuses the offer of more sobriety tests.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
325 S.W.3d 223, 2010 Tex. App. LEXIS 4596, 2010 WL 2432065, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/campbell-v-state-texapp-2010.